Many, like Judy Klemba, whose 54-year-old son, Mark, is in a state-run group home, are opposed to the state’s efforts to turn about 40 group homes over to private, nonprofit companies.

Klemba credits state workers for turning her son into “a great human being.” She said private, nonprofits don’t pay their workers enough money to care for her son.

“I don’t want someone to come in who is making $10 or $11 an hour to replace these professional people he has in charge of him now. These people are his family,” Klemba said.

Klemba’s story was similar to stories told by dozens of other families Tuesday.

But there’s also the story of Tom Fiorentino, president of ARC’s board of directors, whose 26-year-old son currently lives at home.

“There’s no mention of the residential waiting list,” Fiorentino said. “It’s not in their 5-year plan.”

There are more than 2,000 individuals on a waiting list seeking to get into a group home in an effort to live independently.

Fiorentino said that if the state were to make a decision to close Southbury Training School — an institutional setting serving about 260 people — then it would free up the funding necessary to get a lot of people on the waiting list into community settings.

Read more at ctnewsjunkie.com. Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it was first published to correct the number of group homes the state intends to turn over to private, nonprofit companies.